Attitudes towards LPN's

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Hi, I am a nursing student, and after year 1 of my RN, Ive realized I can't afford to finish RN so I'm doing the 2 year LPN course instead. One day I do hope to upgrade but for now it will just be LPN. I've been reading alot of discussions on here and alot of what i read is people (RN's) talking about how bad LPNs are and how unsafe they are. I don't want to end up in a career where I have no respect from my colleagues. I thought we were all nurses, and although RNs do have a greater scope of practice what is the purpose of disrespecting LPNs?

Thanks

Specializes in Psychiatry.
I used to work with a 26 year veteran LPN who was an amazing clinician...but I as a newgrad made substantially more money than her. My disrespect for her was not based on her skills (because she was an amazing nurse), but because of complacency. I hate complacency.

Please keep in mind that money isn't everything, and some are happy with their vocations, regardless of how much money they make.

Did you consider that maybe the 'veteran' LPN is happy in her current position, and doesn't want the added stress of additional responsibilities? I don't call that being complacent; it is realistic.

Just my $.02

Best,

Diane

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Some LPNs are great and some suck..Some RNs are great and some suck. Honestly, it's better to go for the RN ...more jobs..less stigmatizim. I wish I had...and I'm going to.

So, so true. Education alone does not a better nurse make.

I know here in Georgia and depending on location an LPN can be limited to where he/she can work.

You want to be an RN in the future great, even if you don't thats great also we all have our parts to play in health care. You will learn a good deal in school and will learn a good deal more while working and when/if you decide to go back to school your experiences will carry over (compared to all those leaving mom and dad for the first time).

Best wishes!

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg..

Here in Ontario, the LPN (RPN) course is now two to two and a half years long, the RN is now a four year degree program. As an RPN, you are expected to manage your own patient load. You may need an RN for the very odd push but that is not overly common on a surgical floor as most pain is managed by pump or IM injection.

I think if you are worried about working in an unsupportive environment, you will need to talk to people and see what places are a fit for you. JMO.

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Specializes in LTC, Acute Care.
As an RN who once had to work with LPN's, it sort of sucks working with them, honestly. I mean, yes we are all nurses, but working with an LPN means that I have to do my job and parts of yours too. Which, let's face it, sucks.

I have a little bit of disrespect for LPN's, but not for the reason you would think. Personally, I think if you are smart enough to become an LPN, you're smart enough to become an RN. So it's only prudent to get the more advanced degree and in some cases nearly double your income. I used to work with a 26 year veteran LPN who was an amazing clinician...but I as a newgrad made substantially more money than her. My disrespect for her was not based on her skills (because she was an amazing nurse), but because of complacency. I hate complacency.

Eh, you may disrespect me, but I bowed out of nursing school after the LPN part because I gave birth to my first child. You can disrespect me all you want, but my daughter was thoroughly grateful for my "complacency." She wins.

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emt...rnstudent

The wide variation in salary between LPNs and RNs is one reason for discension, we both feel equally tired at the end of the day and RNs make more money, so a LPNs resentment is understandable. The job heirarchy is another reason for frustration. However, rampant disrepect for each other isn't going on all day, everyday, in most workplaces. It just seems that way on this board because it is place for nurses to vent and sometimes the negative vents are disproportionate to positive workplace posts.

Good luck in your studies.

dishes

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i cant believe that a poster actual said they have some disrespect for lpns. i am becoming an lpn because i am 24 years old, i have 3 children (6,2&1), my husband left me, and i take care of my 65 year old mother with chronic chf & diabetes. i would love to get my rn. but i cant say for sure that i can dedicate the 2 more years i need to become an rn... i can dedicate the full year for the lpn and plan to bridge over once my kids are all in school. i cannot afford to not work fulltime for 2 years and i cant count on my mom having perfect health during that time either. i must do what i can.

a lot of people do this. a lot of people have money issues and just cant afford the rn program.... a lot of people dont want the full responsibility of rns like care plans etc - believe it or not....

every hospital staff member has a role and function and together we all work to accomplish a means to an end. if there were no lpns, cnas, etc then the rns would be doing much more work - at lower pay. ignorance is not bliss and posting that you disrespect lpns because you assume that they are just not motivated to finish their education makes an a$$ out of u and me lol.

and i also agree with the pp who said - are you an associate rn, a bachelor rn, a nurse practioner, a doctor? how would you feel if someone with higher education assumed you were to lazy to get a better yourself and were disrespectful to you. how would you like it if no one stopped to consider why you cannot continue on or why you simply dont want to. it sounds like you never even bothered to think of why someone would want to not be an rn. maybe you should ask them instead of assuming.

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Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Another reason why nurses will never have power. Can't we all just get along???????????

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It is wrong to have a preconceived attitude or bias against any group. LPNs included.

It sounds like you were moving toward a 4-yr RN program. If you are concerned about the LPN choice, why don't you do a 2 year RN? You can always go back for your BSN and other advanced degrees.

I considered getting an LPN, but after looking into it I realized that the layers of prerequisites meant the RN would not take considerably longer than an LPN.

I have worked with some fabulous LPNs. I have worked with some horrid ones too, but their title was not what lowered my opinion of them.

I can tell you this: after working as a CNA and working with LPNs, RNs, NP's, PTs, OTs, STs, and MDs in varying amounts - I won't be making any preconceived biases (for or against!) any of them. You really never do know what you are going to get. (I am dismayed that I just paraphrased Forrest Gump.)

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It is wrong to have a preconceived attitude or bias against any group. LPNs included.

It sounds like you were moving toward a 4-yr RN program. If you are concerned about the LPN choice, why don't you do a 2 year RN? You can always go back for your BSN and other advanced degrees.

I considered getting an LPN, but after looking into it I realized that the layers of prerequisites meant the RN would not take considerably longer than an LPN. .

The OP is CANADIAN. In Canada, the only route to becoming an RN is to go to university for FOUR years to get the BScN degree and then write our registration exam, CRNE. Several provinces require TWO YEARS of college to become a PN eligible to write CPNRE. There are a couple of provinces where the PN education is done over 12 months without a break.

It's a fact of life up here.

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Specializes in Gerontology, nursing education.
As an RN who once had to work with LPN's, it sort of sucks working with them, honestly. I mean, yes we are all nurses, but working with an LPN means that I have to do my job and parts of yours too. Which, let's face it, sucks.

I worked with many LPNs in the hospital setting and didn't find it particularly burdensome to have to perform certain tasks that they weren't permitted to do. We worked as a team.

Interestingly, when I worked LTC, most LPNs were resentful when they had to work with TMAs (trained medication aides) because there were things that they were not permitted to do. It got to the point at which some of the TMAs refused to work with certain LPNs as they grumbled so much about "having to do their work". Funny---I never grumbled and the TMAs offered to help me with my work whenever I'd go to their halls to, say, give their residents insulin.

I have a little bit of disrespect for LPN's, but not for the reason you would think. Personally, I think if you are smart enough to become an LPN, you're smart enough to become an RN. So it's only prudent to get the more advanced degree and in some cases nearly double your income. I used to work with a 26 year veteran LPN who was an amazing clinician...but I as a newgrad made substantially more money than her. My disrespect for her was not based on her skills (because she was an amazing nurse), but because of complacency. I hate complacency.

I don't like complacency either. However, complacency is not the only reason nurses don't advance to the next educational level. Perhaps this amazing clinician simply did not want the responsibility of being an RN. There's a huge difference between being complacent and being content with what one is doing or what one has in life. If the LPN with 26 years of experience feels satisfied and fulfilled in her job, then that's what's right for her.

I wish my mom hadn't been complacent. When I finished my ADN, she was still very young, 45 or so. She expressed wistfulness at my nursing career and said she would have liked to have gone back to school to be an LPN when she was younger. I asked her why she didn't go then? At 45 she thought she was too old. It's thirty years later and she regrets not having had a career. At age 50, I'm planning on going back to school for my PhD. Lesson learned from my mother!

I will politely quibble with you regarding your statement, "if you are smart enough to be an LPN, you're smart enough to be an RN." While I have worked with intelligent, competent nurses who come from a variety of educational backgrounds, I've also worked with a few LPNs and RNs who have not been quite so capable. I'm thinking of a couple of nurses with whom I have worked who lacked critical thinking skills; they would be stymied if they had an unexpected problem with a LTC resident, could not figure out simple medication dosages, and made numerous medication errors. Also worked with an LPN who went through an RN program but did not know how to do physical assessments, write care plans and chart properly. :banghead:

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Specializes in Medical Surgical, Neurology.

I was an LPN for 7 years...did not get the respect in the medical field...it motivated me to get my RN degree. I strongly advise you to get your RN degree. It will be something you will not ever regret.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
As an RN who once had to work with LPN's, it sort of sucks working with them, honestly. I mean, yes we are all nurses, but working with an LPN means that I have to do my job and parts of yours too. Which, let's face it, sucks.

I have a little bit of disrespect for LPN's, but not for the reason you would think. Personally, I think if you are smart enough to become an LPN, you're smart enough to become an RN. So it's only prudent to get the more advanced degree and in some cases nearly double your income. I used to work with a 26 year veteran LPN who was an amazing clinician...but I as a newgrad made substantially more money than her. My disrespect for her was not based on her skills (because she was an amazing nurse), but because of complacency. I hate complacency.

I have to say that this is a not a nice attitude towards us. It is one thing to believe that some of it may be double work, but to say that we are complacent, that is not true. I had to sit down and compare which sort of nurse I wanted to be and for me, the additional responsibilities, whether the money is better or not is not interesting to me. I noticed that in my area, the scope of practice is wide, but the facility may decide to limit what that LPN can do, even though the state says that they can...and then, the policies are not clear, where they really can be.

Do you say this about the CNAs, also...I mean, they can't administer meds, most can't do dressings, etc...and then, the RN has to do all of the ADL care as well...doing part of their job as well as your own. What I see is the flip side of the coin...that BECAUSE a person is an RN, they have no problem dumping even more on them than they can safely handle and being pre-occupied with some of the insane rules that management places upon them-so, yes, it is more pay, but it is more responsibility and aggrevation for being exposed to unsafe situations than I wish to be bothered with. Being an LPN does not mean that we are not ambitious, are lazy or not making a respectable living.

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